How I Built A $1M Business From This Starbucks
Summary
TLDRPat Walls shares his inspiring journey of building a million-dollar business, 'Starter Story', while working a full-time job. He overcame self-doubt and utilized deep work sessions at a local Starbucks to lay the foundation of his venture. Through consistent effort, strategic marketing, and a pivotal sponsorship deal, he transformed his side project into a successful business, ultimately resigning from his job to pursue his dream full-time.
Takeaways
- 🚀 The story is about Pat Wall's journey to building a successful business, 'Starter Story', from a small idea to a million-dollar venture.
- 🕒 Pat started his business while working a full-time job, only dedicating 2 hours a day to his entrepreneurial aspirations.
- 🤔 Pat struggled with self-doubt and the fear of the unknown, which was symbolized by the daily walk past a Starbucks where he intended to work on his business.
- 📚 The book 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport inspired Pat to focus and commit to his project, leading him to establish a contract with himself to work at Starbucks.
- ⏱ Pat used a timer to work in focused 2-hour sessions, which helped him enter a state of 'flow' and make significant progress on his business idea.
- 🌱 The consistent daily effort led to the creation of 'Starter Story', a platform sharing stories of successful online businesses, which eventually attracted an audience.
- 📈 After several months, Pat's persistence paid off when one of his stories went viral, significantly increasing his site traffic and newsletter subscribers.
- 💰 Pat monetized his newsletter through sponsorships and affiliate marketing, which allowed him to start earning revenue from his project.
- 💌 A life-changing email from the CEO of Clavio, offering a $112,000 sponsorship, validated Pat's business idea and provided the funds to consider leaving his full-time job.
- 🔮 The decision to quit his job and focus solely on 'Starter Story' was driven by a desire to build something for himself and not to live with the 'what if' of missed opportunities.
- 🏆 The story emphasizes the importance of taking action, focusing on a goal, and the potential for success that comes from daily dedication and hard work.
Q & A
What was the initial challenge that Pat Walls faced when starting his business?
-Pat Walls faced the challenge of self-doubt and a lack of time due to his full-time job, leaving him with only 2 hours a day to build his business.
What was the turning point that helped Pat overcome his self-doubt and start his business?
-The turning point was reading the book 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport, which made Pat realize the importance of focus and led him to create a contract with himself to dedicate time to his business idea at Starbucks.
How did Pat Walls utilize the limited time he had to work on his business idea?
-Pat Walls used the 'deep work' concept to focus for 2 hours a day at Starbucks, which eventually led to the creation and growth of his business.
What is the name of Pat Walls' business and what is its purpose?
-The business is called 'Starter Story' and its purpose is to share case studies and business breakdowns of successful online businesses started by people like Pat, to help others learn how to build their own businesses.
How did Pat Walls monetize his business initially?
-Pat Walls initially monetized his business through a sponsorship deal with a company called Clavio, which offered him $112,000.
What was the significant amount of money that Pat received from a sponsorship deal, and how did it impact him?
-Pat received $112,000 from a sponsorship deal with Clavio. This amount was life-changing for him, causing him to feel like a millionaire and ultimately deciding to quit his full-time job to focus on Starter Story.
What was the pivotal moment that led Pat to resign from his full-time job?
-The pivotal moment was when Pat received the $112,000 sponsorship deal, which validated his business idea and gave him the confidence to go all in on Starter Story.
How did Pat Walls describe his journey from the initial idea to building a million-dollar business?
-Pat described his journey as a series of daily actions and deep work sessions at Starbucks, learning from case studies, and eventually receiving a life-changing sponsorship deal that led him to quit his job and fully commit to his business.
What is the main message Pat Walls wants to convey to his audience through his story?
-The main message is the importance of taking action every day, dedicating time to work on your dreams, and being open to opportunities that can lead to success.
How did Pat Walls' daily routine at Starbucks contribute to the growth of his business?
-Pat's daily routine at Starbucks allowed him to focus deeply on his business idea, leading to the creation of valuable content, building an audience, and eventually attracting a significant sponsorship deal.
What is the role of 'flow state' or 'deep work' in Pat Walls' success story?
-The role of 'flow state' or 'deep work' in Pat's success story is crucial as it allowed him to be highly productive and focused during his limited time, which was essential for the rapid development and growth of his business.
Outlines
🚀 From Doubt to Success: The Birth of Starter Story
Pat Walls shares the inspiring journey of building a million-dollar business, Starter Story, while working a full-time job. Initially plagued by self-doubt and unsure of how to start, Pat found motivation in the book 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport, which led to a commitment to focus for two hours daily at a local Starbucks. This disciplined routine allowed Pat to develop the idea for Starter Story, a platform sharing success stories of businesses. Despite the business not generating income initially, Pat's persistence paid off as the audience grew, and eventually, a sponsorship deal brought in significant revenue, validating the business idea.
💼 The Turning Point: A Life-Changing Sponsorship Deal
The narrative continues with Pat's unexpected sponsorship offer from Clavio's CEO, which amounted to a staggering $112,000. This life-altering event prompted a critical decision for Pat—whether to continue with the safety of a regular job or to fully commit to the entrepreneurial venture. After months of contemplation and reflecting on the initial motivation behind Starter Story, Pat decided to resign from the full-time job and dedicate all efforts to growing the business. This bold move set the stage for Starter Story's evolution into a million-dollar success, illustrating the power of taking action and embracing opportunities.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Business
💡Self-doubt
💡Deep Work
💡Flow State
💡Starter Story
💡Monetization
💡Case Studies
💡Sponsorship
💡Affiliate Marketing
💡Resignation
💡Validation
Highlights
Pat Walls built a million-dollar business while working a full-time job, using only 2 hours a day.
Overcoming self-doubt was a critical part of Pat's entrepreneurial journey.
The idea for Starter Story originated from Pat's own questions about starting a business.
Pat's daily routine involved passing by a Starbucks, symbolizing the unknown and his fear of starting his business.
Reading 'Deep Work' by Cal Newport helped Pat realize the importance of focus in achieving hard tasks.
Pat made a contract with himself to start his business at Starbucks, setting a timer for 2 hours of focused work.
After one month of consistent deep work, Pat had a name and concept for his business, Starter Story.
Pat launched Starter Story with a few stories, attracting a few hundred visitors to the website.
Starting a newsletter helped Pat gain his first 100 subscribers after two months.
One of Pat's stories went viral on Reddit, significantly growing his audience and newsletter subscribers.
Pat began monetizing Starter Story through sponsorships and affiliate revenue after four months.
Pat's business received a life-changing sponsorship offer of $112,000 from Clavio's CEO.
The $112,000 sponsorship validated Pat's business idea and led to a decision to quit his full-time job.
Pat's decision to go all-in on Starter Story was driven by a desire to build something for himself.
Starter Story now contains over 4,000 case studies and business breakdowns of successful online businesses.
Pat's story emphasizes the importance of taking action every day to create opportunities for success.
Pat's business now makes money through affiliate marketing and other deals.
Pat Walls' journey from a regular job to a million-dollar business owner was marked by consistent effort and seizing opportunities.
Transcripts
all right what's your story 6 years ago
I started a business today that business
makes over a million dollar a year but
what nobody knows is that I built it
inside of a Starbucks at the time I was
working a full-time job I'm still
working my 9 to-5 job right here and
that left me with only 2 hours a day to
build the business of my dreams but
there was still one problem I was
suffocated by self-doubt I didn't
believe I could do it then I found
something that would change my life
forever today I'm going to tell you that
story I'm Pat walls and this is my
starter
[Music]
story all right this is me in the summer
of 2017 I'm 26 years old I've got a
great job I'm making six figures in New
York City and by all accounts living the
life of my dreams but deep down I know
that something isn't right every day I
go to work and do the same same
clock in a few Zoom meetings eat lunch
write a few lines of code and clock out
this work leaves me feeling empty every
day I know this isn't what I meant to do
I know there's something missing see
here's the truth and it might be
something you felt at some point too
secretly in the back of my head I dream
about the idea of quitting my job and
starting my own business in my free time
I'm reading business books and
romanticizing about being able to wake
up and work on whatever I want but I
keep running into the same problem I
have no idea where to start how do I
find a good idea how do I know it can
make money how do I take the first step
I couldn't find this information
anywhere online and that's when I had my
light bulb moment I can turn these
questions into a product I'll just
research successful businesses write
about my findings on a Blog and share
them with others who also want to learn
and I didn't think this was going to be
a big thing I was just genuinely
interested in this stuff so this is is
the beginning of the idea but it's not
all peaches and cream from there this
idea it nags at me for months every
single day I tell myself I'll get
started on it but I never
do and this is where Starbucks comes
into play so let me pull up a map and
show you this is New York City this is
where I live this is where I work and
this is the Starbucks every day I walk
home from work and I walk by the
Starbucks and every day I tell myself
I'll stop in there order a drink sit
down and get started on this idea but
every single day I walk by that
Starbucks take one hard look at it
proceed to not go inside walk home and
watch 6 hours of Netflix and then go to
bed and I do this every day for months
this Starbucks it represents the unknown
and it's too scary for me to confront
it but everything changes when I come
across this book it's called deep work
by Cal Newport and deep work is a state
of focus that you must learn if you want
to do hard things after reading this
book I realize that I'm completely
lacking Focus so I put together a
contract with myself in this contract I
write down and I visualize tomorrow I'm
going to walk in that Starbucks I'm
going to order a coffee I'm going to sit
down I'm going to set a timer for 2
hours and I'm going to just focus that's
the contract the next day day one I walk
in that Starbucks I sit down I set my
timer and I get started all of a sudden
the timer goes off I look up and think
holy that was 2 hours that flew by
I was in Flow State I was actually doing
deep work day two I walk into Starbucks
and do it again and day three I do it
again and I don't stop every single day
I get off work walk into that Starbucks
and do my 2 hours of deep work I even
start waking up at 6:00 in the morning
and getting my deepor in before my
full-time job even starts I'm doing it
every day and it feels effortless in the
progress it starts to happen after 1
month I've come up with a name and
concept for my idea I'm going to call it
starter story and I land the domain
starterstory.com for $12 a year I launch
it with a few stories and a few hundred
people visit the website after 2 months
I've published dozens of stories and I'm
starting to find a routine the business
isn't making any money but I'm starting
to build a tiny audience I then start a
newsletter and get my first 100
subscribers after 4 months I start
working on marketing and I get my first
big break one of my stories goes viral
on Reddit and thousands of people crash
my site and join the newsletter now I'm
starting to feel like my idea is
validated after 6 months I start
thinking about monetization and how I
can make my first dollar I monetize the
newsletter with a sponsorship and I
start making some money from affiliate
Revenue now I'm starting to feel more
confident like I actually kind of get
how this stuff works and and I'm having
fun in the
process so this whole thing starts out
as a project that I didn't really expect
would go anywhere but then it gets
traction and now I'm left with a new
problem I need to figure out how this
thing can make money but everything on
the internet is about how VC backed Tech
Giants raised $100 million when I just
want to figure out how I can go from $0
a month to5 or $10,000 a month how do I
figure this out by reading case studies
about businesses that that are just a
few steps ahead of me and that's what
starter story is we have over 4,000 case
studies and business breakdowns on
successful online businesses that were
started by people like you and me in
these case studies you can see exactly
how much these businesses make and
exactly how they got started so if
you're curious on what it takes to build
a business to5 or $10,000 a month or
even a million doll online business
check out starterstory.com or click the
first link in the description we're
running a special right now for the
YouTube family so how does this turn
into a business well I'm reading case
studies about businesses similar to mine
and I realize that most of them make
their money through
sponsorships then something amazing
happens I get an email it's from the CEO
of a company called clavio they're a
huge company now but at the time they
were smaller the email says hi Pat I
love starter story and what you're doing
both the stories and sharing your
progress keep crushing it AB it's a nice
email to get but I don't really think
too much of it but as the conversation
goes on we start to talk about the
potential of clavio sponsoring the
newsletter and then he comes to me with
a number
$112,000 when I see this I don't believe
it at the time I was basically living
paycheck to paycheck so $122,000 was
more money than I'd ever seen in my life
I send in my bank details and sure
enough a few days later the money hits
my account I get the notification while
I'm at Starbucks and my heart starts
beating out of my chest I get up leave
the Starbucks and just take a walk
around the block my head is swirling
with emotions this is crazy I got
$112,000 deposited into my bank account
because of something that I built I felt
like I had just become a millionaire all
those days of waking up at 6:00 in the
morning going to Starbucks and putting
in those 2 hours of deep work this money
was the direct result of that I felt
like I was on top of the world but these
emotions of excitement of bliss it
quickly turned to fear I thought was
this email some sort of accident did I
just get lucky this $122,000
it represented a decision that I had to
make in my life should I keep playing it
safe and keep my full-time job or was
this $112,000 validation that I should
go all in on one side the devil on my
shoulder was saying go all in and the
angel was saying no keep playing it safe
and I sat on the fence for months but
then I remembered why I started this
thing in the first place I wanted to
build something for myself and not
someone else's dream I realized that if
I don't make this decision right now I
might never do it I might get old look
back and wonder what if and that was the
moment that I walked into work and I
handed in my resignation I quit my job
decided to go all in on starter story
and the rest is
[Music]
history all right fast forward 5 years
and that was the last time I had a
regular job the last time I ever got a
paycheck after that I never looked back
I never stopped building and I ended up
building starter story into a
million-dollar business I'm not going to
lie to you and tell you that it was all
easy or predictable from there I failed
a ton but when I look back the most
important thing that I did was just
going inside that Starbucks getting to
work and taking action every single day
I was giving myself a chance to become
lucky and it took me a few months to get
there but when it did when that email
came through when that $12,000 came
through I decided to go all in after
that and that is really what made the
difference that's the story of how I
built a million our business from inside
of Starbucks and I would like to thank
Starbucks for sponsoring this video just
kidding
good we're making money through a couple
affiliate deals and a few we're
making I'm making money through some
affiliate
marketing ah bro what the man get the
hell out of here I'm taking a DB
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